Herm Edwards and ASU have not landed many elite in-state recruits,
Arizona State football coaches, led by recruiting coordinator Antonio Pierce, have aggressively hit California in their trails to find talent.
It turned into 2020 gold with seven of the top 30 prospects (according to 247Sports Composite) from California committing to the Sun Devils.
So where does that leave the Arizona high school recruits from the 2020 class, which is considered to be one of the richest and deepest in state history?
Only Mesa Red Mountain offensive lineman Ben Bray, a three-star recruit who is ranked No. 86 at his position in the nation by 247Sports Composite, is signed by ASU among the in-state recruits, as the traditional National Signing Day comes Wednesday.
Peoria Liberty offensive lineman Frank Thompson had his offer pulled in December. Scottsdale Saguaro linebacker Will Shaffer is going to ASU, and will eventually be placed on a football scholarship, but he comes in as a “blueshirt.”
Does this mean ASU is ignoring its own backyard?
ASU offered all of the top players in Arizona. It has given offers to the top underclassmen.
In an unprecedented move last August, the Sun Devils offered 20 sophomores-to-be from Arizona. None of them accepted an offer.
“I think ASU is doing a good job recruiting me,” said Gilbert Mesquite 2021 quarterback Ty Thompson, a fourstar recruit by 247Sports Composite, who has been offered by both ASU and UA, along with national champion LSU. “Coach (Zak) Hill, the new OC (offensive coordinator) came by the school recently and we talked. He also reaches out just to stay in touch every once in a while, so I feel like they do a pretty good job.”
It is more like most of the elite players in Arizona are saying no to ASU.
The Sun Devils hit Arizona as much as California, but, it appears, more of the top California kids are saying yes to them.
“They offered all my guys,” Gilbert Higley coach Eddy Zubey said. “They’re always on our campus.”
Arizona is growing in football, not just in numbers with the population taking off, but in quality of prospects.
It is evident by the Power 5 colleges that have swept through the state, sometimes multiple times, trying to land recruits, in recent years.
ASU and Arizona would have loved to have any of these big six from this 2020 class in state:
❚ Tucson Salpointe Catholic running back Bijan Robinson (Texas)
❚ Salpointe safety Lathan Ransom (Ohio State)
❚ Scottsdale Saguaro cornerback Kelee Ringo (Georgia)
❚ Higley defensive end Jason Harris (Colorado)
❚ Scottsdale Chaparral quarterback
Jack Miller (Ohio State).
❚ Phoenix Pinnacle offensive tackle Tosh Baker (Notre Dame).
Arizona has only three in-state recruits from this class: Gilbert quarterback Will Plummer, Florence defensive end Regen Terry and Peoria Centennial wide receiver Dyelan Miller.
Pierce in December talked about instate recruiting and the challenges ASU faces.
“You got to want to be here,” Pierce was quoted as saying, in a House of Sparky article as part of SB Nation. “We’re going to want you all you want, you got to want to be here. And there’s not been a lack of effort of trying to keep, especially this 2020 class, here in state, especially the top 10 or 15 players.”
He added: “We’ve exhausted every possibility to do everything we could to show them love, commitment, why this is the place for you to be. If they make a choice to leave, that’s their choice, and it’s okay. That’s when we need to go elsewhere, because then we have 25 spots to fill. We’re going to fill those if guys don’t want to be Sun Devils. If they don’t want to be Sun Devils, it’s okay.”
Zubey, who was once a graduate assistant at ASU, where he played football, said it will probably take more winning seasons and bigger bowl games for ASU to win over the state’s top recruits.
In addition, he said, “It’s not fun practicing in a 115-degree weather all the time.”
Chandler coach Rick Garretson has seen wide receiver N’Keal Harry and cornerback Chase Lucas come out of the Wolves program to do good things at ASU in football.
Shaun Aguano, who led Chandler to three consecutive state titles before moving on to be part of Herm Edwards’ staff at ASU last year, will hit Chandler and other schools in the state on his recruiting trails.
“Well, obviously, nobody tells anybody what to do in regards to recruiting,” said Garretson, who spent much of his life in Orange County in California. “There are more people in California than Arizona.
“But we have open arms for Coach Edwards and Aguano coming over. I can’t tell them who to take and what to take. You go from there. I don’t bag on anybody for not doing certain things. There’s always a place to land. We tell kids to go the place that loves you. If that happens to be ASU, great.”
Stay near home or leave?
Mesa Desert Ridge coach Jeremy Hathcock has been one of the state’s more vocal coaches when it comes to seeing how ASU is making California the priority state. Two of Hathcock’s top players, wide receiver Aiden Lee (California) and defensive end/linebacker Joquarri Price (UCLA), signed with Pac-12 schools in December.
“I guess it just amazes be how they can publicly go out and say Cali is our home recruiting state,” Hathcock said. “I know Cali has kids. Population dictates that, so it’s a no-brainer why they want those kids.
“However, these kids in Arizona really do pay attention to what is happening in our home state and so do their coaches. Football in Arizona is in the top 15 states in the country now. Really good football happens in ASU’s backyard. There is a reason why over 70 schools fly across other states to look at these young men from Arizona.”
Gilbert Highland coach Brock Farrel is building a strong program that reached the 6A semifinals two season ago, even though he hasn’t produced Power 5 players. But it doesn’t mean he hasn’t seen coaches from ASU and UA.
“All I know is I have seen ASU and UofA more in the past two years than I ever have,” Farrel said. “They seem to be doing their due diligence.”
Surprise Valley Vista coach Josh Sekoch
said he believes Arizona has done more in-state recruiting, but he wouldn’t criticize either institution on their recruiting philosophies.
“I think lots of players now want to leave Arizona for college, go away,” he said. “The first question should be, ‘Do you want to live in Tempe or Tucson or Flagstaff?’ Some kids simply don’t want to.”
Mesquite coach Scott Hare knows he has one of the more coveted prospects in the 2021 class in Thompson. He realizes how much work ASU coaches will need to do to keep him home.
“I believe that both UofA and ASU need to do what they feel is best for them to be successful,” Hare said.
“My issue is when they offer a local kid but then don’t recruit him. That is a front to the local fans, that they tried but the kid does not want to be here. For those high school coaches who see college coaches year in and year out, there is a huge difference between an offer and a kid being recruited, because the school wants that kid,” Hare said.
“If a kid goes out of state, it might not be that they wanted to leave. It might just mean that the school out of state wanted that kid more than the in-state school. It is a two-way street. The university needs to do what is best for them but the kid wants to be where he is really wanted.”
Coaches ‘very accessible’
Robinson, a five-star recruit, had ASU in his top five, before committing to Texas.
“They recruited me hard,” the state’s all-time leader in career rushing yards for big schools said. “I love me and Coach Herm’s relationship. He’s a great coach, but better than that, he’s a great man to talk to about life after football.
“I know I didn’t go there. But they were definitely in the top five because of how they use running backs and conduct themselves as people and as coaches.”
Jason Jewell, who ran an in-state football recruiting web site before becoming Phoenix Brophy Prep’s head football coach last season, said ASU and UA coaches have been very accessible.
He said Jeremy Spinger of Arizona is always in contact and ASU’s Dave Christensen and Aguano have been around Brophy. He said he has spoken to ASU recruiting coordinator Antonio Pierce over the phone.
“They haven’t offered a ton of my kids, just one, but that doesnt bother me,” Jewell said. “If they don’t feel our guys are a fit or aren’t talented enough, they are entitled to their opinion.”
Hathcock said he’s not trying to start a war with ASU.
“I just want them to give local kids a real shot with committable offers,” he said. “Not only are these kids talented and capable, but they will play with more passion than most kids. These kids grew up here and it just means something to them to play for their own state.”